• Affordable and Luxurious Housing Come Hand in Hand in Vienna
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   February 2013
• Vienna has figured out how to offer high-quality apartments with low-cost rent and renters' rights that would be unheard of in the United States. Advocates say it's a model worth examining.
• 5 Comments

• Jersey Shore Residents Forced to Raise Homes to Ward Against Another Sandy
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   New Jersey   |   January 25, 2013
• Gov. Christie announced that the state would adopt the Federal Emergency Management Agency's new floodplain maps, which are likely to face challenges from local officials.

• Kansas Governor Wants to Eliminate Property Tax Deduction
• Source: Kansas City Star   |   Kansas   |   January 24, 2013
• The governor wants to wipe away the income deduction claimed by Kansans for property taxes they pay on their homes. Nixing that deduction would raise revenue, at least partially offsetting the lower state income tax rates Brownback wants to adopt.
• 2 Comments

• Winning Micro-Apartment Design Aims to Address New York City's Housing Shortage
• Source: New York Times   |   New York City   |   January 23, 2013
• The city unveiled the winner of a competition to design and build an apartment tower on city-owned land composed entirely of micro-units, 55 homes the size of hotel rooms that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg hopes will be the first in a wave of tiny apartments aimed at addressing the city’s shortage of studio and one-bedroom apartments.

• Massachusetts Gov. Patrick to Propose Consolidating 240 Housing Agencies into 6
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Massachusetts   |   January 10, 2013
• Patrick’s proposal would consolidate public housing management — including budgeting, planning, and administrative functions — into six central ­offices, while leaving a corps of managers and maintenance workers at local housing author­ities. Local boards would be cut, eliminating the need for more than 1,000 politically appointed commissioners.
• 1 Comments

• Personal Property Tax on Idaho Governor's Chopping Block
• Source: AP/Idaho Statesman   |   Idaho   |   January 8, 2013
• Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter proposed eliminating Idaho's personal property tax, a move that would cost $141 million in tax revenue but provide a boost to business leaders who say the tax is a drag on the economy.

• 'Homeless Bill of Rights' Proposed for California
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   January 4, 2013
• The measure is sure to be controversial in cities such as Sacramento, which has battled for years over "tent cities" for homeless people, and San Francisco, where voters passed an ordinance barring sitting or lying on sidewalks.
• 2 Comments

• Poverty Among Seniors Getting Harder to Ignore
• BY: Jonathan Walters   |   January 2013
• The gap between what seniors need to live on versus what they have might land squarely on state and local governments.
• 6 Comments

• Tennessee Struggles to Spend Federal Money to Help Homeowners
• Source: Tennessean   |   Tennessee   |   December 13, 2012
• Nearly two years after getting its share of a federal mortgage-relief program, Tennessee has spent just $28.8 million, or 13.3 percent.

• Homelessness Rate Nearly Unchanged in 2012
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   December 11, 2012
• Even though the homeless rate stayed virtually the same over the last year, the number of homeless veterans declined, according to federal estimates.

• Homeless Veterans Rate Dropped Last Year
• Source: AP/Boston Globe   |   Nation   |   December 10, 2012
• The number of homeless people in the United States remained stable between January 2011 and January 2012.

• Kentucky, Indiana Sitting on Nearly $371M Federal Funds to Help Jobless Homeowners
• Source: The Courier-Journal   |   Nation   |   December 6, 2012
• Kentucky and Indiana have spent only a fraction of $371 million the federal government awarded them last year to help struggling borrowers.

• States Fail to Find Housing for Sex Offenders
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Nation   |   December 4, 2012
• Arizona’s system of registering and monitoring sex offenders contributes to homelessness among high-risk offenders. States from California to Massachusetts see similar situations but none have found a comprehensive solution.

• Concerns Mount over State Handling of Mortgage Funds
• BY: Stateline   |   November 28, 2012
• States have siphoned mortgage settlement funds for purposes seemingly outside the realm of housing, raising some red flags.

• San Francisco Called Model for Affordable Housing
• Source: San Francisco Chronicle   |   San Francisco   |   November 28, 2012
• Nearly 50 years of protests, lawsuits and ballot battles over low-income housing have made San Francisco a nationwide model for efforts to keep urban America from becoming home to only the very rich or the very poor, according to a paper.